Abhorsen's Training
by sgkat
Summary: Sabriel must take three boys under her wing because of a vision from the Clayr. But there is more to this vision – and the boys – than meets the eye.
1. Chapter 1

_**Abhorsen's Training**_

Sabriel must take three boys under her wing because of a vision from the Clayr. But there is more to this vision – and the boys – than meets the eye.

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_A/N: This crossover is between __Sabriel__, by Garth Nix, and __Naruto.__ The story continues from events in __Sabriel__, but there are details in it from __Lireal__ and __Abhorsen__, too. _

_The idea for this fic came from reading _To Keep the Dead_ down by Azural God of Ferrets, so there are a few character similarities, but the plot line is totally different._

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_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own _Naruto_ or Garth Nix's _Abhorsen Trilogy_ in any way, shape, or form._

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_**Chapter 1: Vision from the Clayr**_

Sabriel jerked awake. She was lying in her bed in Abhorsen's House… what had that dream been about…? She strained to remember… something about Kerrigor? But he was bound by Ranna… Something else… Dark masses, blurred shapes… the Dead…

She rolled onto her stomach, burying her face in her pillow. It was the third time in a week that she had had that same vague dream…nightmare… the same dream, filled with fear…

Reaching to the bedside table, she touched the bell-bandolier. Her hand lingered on Ranna. As if she had rung it, she drifted into sleep…

-- -- -- -- -- --

The next morning, as she finished her breakfast, Sabriel made up her mind… she would go to the Clayr, and discover the meaning of her dream…

A feather-light touch brought her mind out of her plans. A Charter-sending was pointing at the doors of the dining hall.

"Hmm?" she asked, more to herself.

"It wants you out in the entrance hall," yawned a lazy voice. "A Paperwing."

"Mogget –" she growled. She really hated it when he used that tone. Then what he had said penetrated her brain. "Wait…a Paperwing?"

"Yes," the white cat, in that same irritating voice. "In the royal colors."

She sighed, knowing an admonishment would be wasted, and picked up her bell-bandolier and went out into the entrance hall.

Queen Asrylil had sent the same advisor as she always did, a man by the name of Rechad. He was a thin, wiry man, with a touch of gray in his brown hair. Formal as always, he bowed low as she approached. He was not, however, alone.

"Good day, Abhorsen," Rechad said.

"Good day, Advisor Rechad," she replied, though most of her attention was centered on the three boys behind him. The blond was obviously the royal prince, in red robes trimmed in gold. At the moment, she couldn't remember the name of Touchstone's oldest child. She could not hazard even a guess about the other two boys, one black-haired, with black eyes, the other with long brown hair and white eyes.

"Abhorsen, may I request that we speak for a moment in private?" Rechad asked.

"Of course," Sabriel said. "The sendings can show our guests into the parlor."

Three sendings appeared immediately to lead the boys down the hall and into the parlor. The royal prince looked back several times, curiosity strong in his gaze, but the other two didn't look back once.

"What's going on?" Sabriel asked.

"I am not sure, to be honest," Rechad said. "A daughter of the Clayr has Seen something, something to do with those three boys, and another daughter of the Clayr. Unfortunately, that does not help us much, as the vision was not very clear. You see, this Daughter gained the Sight with this vision."

Sabriel thought about this information for a moment. "Well, before you tell me the details of the vision, I'd like to know more about these boys and the two daughters of the Clayr."

Rechad nodded soberly. "The vision would not be so disturbing if the background of these boys was… normal."

"What do you mean?" Sabriel asked.

"There's more to those boys than meets the eye," Mogget said.

"Mogget!" Sabriel scolded, surprised at his appearance.

"Well, if you can't see the obvious, I should point it out to you," Mogget said in a mock-patient voice.

Sabriel chose to ignore this. Much had changed in the Kingdom since Kerrigor had been bound, but Mogget had not. "Go on," she said to Rechad.

Rechad glanced at Mogget before continuing. "Well, you know what happened at King Touchstone's annual hearing…" he said uncomfortably.

Sabriel nodded gravely. She had helped put Touchstone on the throne; she knew him better than most people, as he had helped her as the new Abhorsen. She had been on his closest advising council, when she could be there. She had helped him restore order to the Kingdom. She had been at his wedding to Queen Asrylil, and at the birth of his son, and at the birth of his daughter.

One of the many measures that Touchstone had decreed was a two-day hearing of the common people's problems, the theory being that a fair trial by the king would help them trust him. It worked, to a degree. Two years went by, with the hearings at the celebration of spring. The people of Belisaere brought their problems to him on the appointed day, ranging from squabbles over trade to matters of estate. Many went away satisfied, and came back to listen to the king's wisdom. On the second day, however, someone shot him through the stomach with an arrow. He did not live past sunset.

She had not been present at that hearing, for Dead had risen in the Great Sickle Wood, and it was, after all, the third year of the hearings. She had made sure that the city was protected from the Dead, but whoever had assassinated the king had been living. By the time word had reached her, Touchstone had passed through the Final Gate, and his killer had not been apprehended. Asrylil had been ruling from Belisaere since, maintaining a polite – though frosty – channel of communication with the Abhorsen.

"In a few months' time, Naruto will be sixteen, and he can take over the responsibilities of ruling the kingdom," Rechad said. "But that was before the vision…"

Sabriel had never seen Rechad so uncomfortable. "What is it?"

"I am not sure that Naruto is ready to rule," Rechad said quietly. "He is a ninja, but even so…he is a prankster…"

Sabriel sighed. "Yes, Naruto can be childish."

"Well, that is not all," Rechad said. "This vision had thrown together these three boys, and so far, cooperation has been, shall we say… lacking."

"I see," Sabriel said slowly. "Tell me about the others."

"You know the story of the Uchiha Clan?" Rechad asked just slowly.

"I don't know the details," Sabriel admitted.

"All you need know is that Sasuke Uchiha was part of the vision, and that his older brother, Itachi, murdered the entire Uchiha Clan except for him. He was never caught."

"And no one knows why he left Sasuke alive?" Sabriel asked.

Rechad nodded.

"And the other boy?" Sabriel asked after a moment.

"Neji Hyuuga… he makes the vision even more complicated. You see, the other daughter of the Clayr that the vision concerns is his sister," Rechad said quietly.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but he is of the Branch House, is he not?" Sabriel asked, as his surname sparked her memory.

"Yes."

"And the blood of the Wallmakers flows in the veins of the Branch House?"

"According to traditional rumor."

"The blood of the Clayr flows in the veins of the Main House?"

"That is a fact," Rechad said, nodding. "Hinata Hyuuga is the first-born of the Main House, and she is of the Clayr."

"But did she not first try to become a ninja?" Sabriel asked.

Rechad nodded sadly. "But you know what happened at the Chuunin Exam."

Sabriel nodded. "So those two do not get along."

"To phrase it in an understatement like that, yes."

"And the vision from the Clayr has Seen them together? All of them?"

Rechad nodded irritably. "The three boys are here, together, in your House."

"Tell me about the daughter who had the vision," Sabriel requested.

"Sakura Haruno went to the Clayr after she, too, failed the Chuunin Exam."

"Hmmm," Sabriel said to herself.

"Would you care to know anything else?" Rechad asked.

"The vision," Sabriel reminded him.

"The three boys, together, shortly to confront an army of Dead. Their decisions are to be influenced by Hinata Hyuuga. One of the boys dies to save the Kingdom. The remaining two become an Abhorsen-in-Waiting and a Wallmaker."

"That _is _vague," Sabriel mused.

Rechad nodded.

"May I meet them now?" Sabriel asked.

As sendings went to get the boys, Rechad nodded.

Sabriel studied the three boys walking down the hall. Only Naruto looked at ease. Both Sasuke and Neji stared straight ahead, cold-eyed.

They came to a halt in front of her. Looking at them, she forgot the sendings, who were bowing themselves away, and Rechad.

"So, can you learn to become an Abhorsen, even it you don't have the blood of the Great Charter in you?" Sasuke asked, too casually. Neji was looking pointedly at the bells she held forgotten in her hands.

Not knowing how to answer the question, Mogget saved her. "Maybe yes, maybe no. The Kingdom's rules are not always what they appear to be."

Sasuke stared at Mogget. Neji breathed, "Free Magic, bound by Ranna."

"Very good, Neji White-Eyes," said Mogget lazily.

Neji stiffened.

Intervening, Sabriel said: "As long as you are in my presence, I want the four of you to be civil to one another."

Sasuke and Neji glared at her. Mogget began licking his pure-white chest fur unconcernedly, making the miniature Ranna tinkle.

"I'm going to go find a warm patch of sunlight for a nap," Mogget yawned. He ambled off, watched by all three boys.

Rechad broke the silence. "Will you agree to instruct these three?"

Sabriel looked into three pairs of eyes, one blue, one black, one white. "Yes."

"Damn," muttered Neji, and almost at the same time, Sasuke: "Shit."

"What's wrong?" Sabriel asked.

"Nothing," Neji said sourly, but – most unusually – he was looking at his feet.

"Then I'll have the sendings show you to your rooms," Sabriel said.

Sabriel followed Rechad out to the Paperwing after instructing the sendings to show the boys rooms and make sure their needs were met.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rechad asked, concerned.

Sabriel avoided the question. "Let me know if the Clayr See anything else."

Rechad nodded reluctantly. He climbed into the Paperwing, and whistled the Charter marks to bring the Paperwing to life, and for the winds. Sabriel watched him go.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Abhorsen's Training**_

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_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own _Naruto_ or Garth Nix's _Abhorsen Trilogy_ in any way, shape, or form._

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_**Chapter 2: Meetings in the Study**_

Dinner was an almost totally silent affair that night. It was usually quiet, but it was more… companionable. And if Mogget showed up, it got hectic.

Sabriel looked up from her plate now and then to watch the three boys. Sasuke ate in cold silence. Neji was even colder, though every now and then stabbing a bite of steak as if it had done him a deep personal wrong. Both of them were thoroughly ignoring her, though she suspected that they were more aware of her than they let on. They were ignoring Naruto even more thoroughly.

Sabriel finished first, which surprised her. Didn't boys eat faster than girls? "When you are done, leave your dishes. The sendings seem to enjoy attacking dirty dishes on the spot," she said to the air. She turned to leave, picking up her bell-bandolier from where it was hanging on the back of her chair.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked.

She stopped, surprised. "To study."

"But… you're the Abhorsen!" Naruto burst out.

"So?" Sabriel asked.

"Why do you need to study?" Naruto asked.

"To learn," Sabriel said, slightly puzzled by Naruto's shock.

"But… but don't you know all kinds of stuff?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," Sabriel said slowly. "But most of it I learned after I found my father, bound Kerrigor, and put your father on the throne."

Naruto looked dumbstruck.

"I was raised in Ancelstierre, Naruto," Sabriel said patiently. "I've been studying every night whenever I'm here."

"Oh," Naruto said lamely.

"It's the only way to gain knowledge," Sabriel reminded him.

"Yeah."

"Besides, your lessons start tomorrow. Enjoy your free time," Sabriel said to all three boys as she walked out of the dining hall.

-- -- -- -- --

Sabriel set the bell-bandolier on the dragon desk. She walked slowly around the circular room, looking for a book from which she had not yet studied. She finally selected one of Charter Magic.

She set it on the desk next to the bell-bandolier.

"Is that really what you want to study?" Mogget asked.

"No," Sabriel sighed. "How was your nap?"

Mogget gave the equivalent of a shrug. "Not bad."

Sabriel fingered the spines of the books on still on the shelves, then selected one at random. It detailed the ways that the bells could be used.

"That's more helpful," Mogget said, licking one paw.

"Why?" Sabriel asked, though she thought she knew the answer.

"You're going to have to teach them, you know."

Sabriel sighed again. She had been right. She set the book on top of the book of Charter symbols and then went over to the glass cabinet, resigned. She unlocked the cabinet and took out _The Book of the Dead._

She walked back to the desk, setting _The Book of the Dead_ on the table next to the book regarding the bells. She sat down to study.

After almost an hour of reading out of the book on the bells, occasionally checking some fact against _The Book of the Dead_, there was a knock on the door. Mogget, who had been dozing on one of the ladder steps, mumbled something that sounded like, "Of course, _he'll_ show up…"

"What, Mogget?" Sabriel asked absently, getting up to open the door. Her mind was still on the bells.

She opened the door, startled to see Sasuke standing there. "Yes?"

Sasuke looked uncomfortable. "Um, could I come in?"

"Okay."

He walked into the room, his eyes alighting on the open books on the desk. "You weren't lying," he muttered.

"No."

Sabriel noted that Mogget had vanished from his step. Sasuke walked uneasily around the circular room. His eyes flickered to the spiral staircase more than once.

"It leads to the observatory," she said in answer to his unasked question.

"Right," he said, looking away.

Sabriel was starting to get uncomfortable. "Is there something you wanted?"

"To become an Abhorsen," he mumbled, examining his feet.

"I can't guarantee anything," Sabriel said carefully. "But I can try teaching you."

"Okay."

He walked out of the study.

Sabriel watched him go, her brain whirling with questions. _"I wonder if that was his real reason…" _The brief history that she had gotten from Rechad about the Uchiha massacre fluttered at the edge of her thoughts. _"There is much more to him than meets the eye,"_ she thought.

"Are you just going to stand there and stare all night?" Mogget asked grumpily.

"What?"

Mogget opened his pink mouth, but before he could say anything, Sabriel walked back to the desk. She sat down, but she no longer wanted to study.

She turned a page of the book on the bells half-heartedly. She knew that she should study, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She was startled out of her confused mess of thoughts by another knock on the door.

"Well," Mogget said, "this is interesting."

"Mogget!" Sabriel snapped.

"What?" he asked innocently.

He hopped lightly off of his step, and walked over the desk. Leaping gracefully to its top, he curled up on the corner, his back on _The Book of the Dead_. She glared at him, before going to let in her "guest".

"Neji?" she asked, surprised.

He looked her in the eye. "What?"

"You and Mogget," she muttered under her breath. When Neji's eyes narrowed, she rolled her own at him. "You two are going to have to get along."

"That doesn't mean he has to like it," Mogget pointed out.

"Mogget, I suggest you keep your mouth shut," Sabriel advised.

"Whatever you say, Abhorsen," Mogget said, yawning.

"Oh, just ignore him, Neji!" Sabriel snapped, as Neji reached unconsciously for a kunai knife. "Besides, I doubt one of those could kill him."

"You're right," Mogget said.

"Mogget –!" Sabriel cut herself off, conscious of the fact that she must look very childish snapping at him. Besides, that was Mogget's job.

She sighed, trying to be patient. "Well, what do you want?"

He brushed past her, into the study. "I want to learn," he said quietly, staring at the books opposite him.

"I will do my best to teach," Sabriel said slowly, with even more care than she had with Sasuke.

Something in her manner must have alerted Neji. "Uchiha was here, wasn't he?"

"Yes," Sabriel said, trying to control new annoyance.

He didn't respond to the barely concealed annoyance in her voice. Ignoring Mogget very thoroughly, he walked around the room, studying the many books with his white eyes. When he again reached his starting point, he brushed past Sabriel, still standing by the door, without a word. He left in silence.

Sabriel watched him go, equally silent.

She turned back to her books, lost in thought.

"Abhorsen?" Mogget asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"Never mind," Mogget said uncharacteristically.

"Then I'm going to bed," Sabriel said. "Good night, Mogget."


	3. Chapter 3

**_Abhorsen's Training_**

_A/N: ok, if you've noticed the difference in the appearance of the chapters, it's because I separated all of the A/Ns from the body of the story. I don't know if it was bothering ya'll, my lovely readers, but it was bothering me - so I fixed it. There's no new information in the previous chapters, FYI._

_I know this chappie is really short, sorry. But it's cough important later cough. I finally decided on a plot line for this story, and since Sabriel, Naruto, and Neji refused to let me tell the story, I went with their idea…_

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**_Disclaimer: _**_I do not own Naruto or Garth Nix's Sabriel in any way, shape, or form._

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**_Chapter 3: Surprises in the Morning_**

Sabriel woke early, but not well-rested. She had had a restless night, waking often from vague dreams, usually in cold sweat. She could not remember any details of any of the dreams, but none had felt right. But she was certain that the dream about the Dead was not one of them, and for that she was grateful.

She rolled over so that she was on her back, looking at the ceiling. She was unable to go back to sleep, regardless of the early hour. She let out an inaudible sigh.

Finally, she admitted to herself that sleep was an impossibility. She hauled herself out of her warm bed, disgruntled. Shivers flashed up and down her spine as her bare feet made contact with the cold floor. She walked over to the window and looked out over the gardens. As it was the last part of winter, all of the trees were bare of their leaves. She stared absentmindedly over the tops of the trees, letting her mind relax. She let her thoughts drift, trying not to dwell on the vague images that her subconscious had provided in her nightmares.

She yawned. Suddenly, a flash of movement caught her eye. Naruto was up. What was he doing up at this hour, with dawn just breaking? He was dressed in his full ninja gear. Then she realized that he was not alone. Sasuke and Neji slouched along in his wake. Neither looked particularly happy. What was going on?

Still tired, but curiosity aroused, Sabriel decided to go down to the gardens and discover what those boys were doing…

-- -- -- -- --

Naruto was wandering aimlessly around the garden, looking for a place to practice without_ her _noticing. He couldn't remember her name; it was too early in the morning, and he wasn't on a first-name basis with her anyway. He didn't know anything about her. She was the Abhorsen. He only knew two concrete facts about her: she had been responsible for putting his father on the throne, and she had not been present at the assassination. The few facts that his mother had supplied about these two topics were scanty. Naruto was under the impression that Queen Asrylil did not like her very much…

"Naruto," Sasuke growled, "if you were just going to wander around, _why _did you haul us out of bed?"

"We have to train!" Naruto responded, but with a preoccupied air.

"Hn," was Sasuke's only comment.

"You can go without training," Naruto said, "but I will beat you one day because of it! I will be the greatest Hokage!"

"How do you expect to hold two positions of power at the same time?" Neji asked coldly. (He was not in the best of moods).

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

Neji narrowed his eyes. "Are you telling me that you are so totally clueless that you don't know that your mother will be giving you the throne in a year or two?"

"No way," Naruto said. "She's not going to give me the throne yet."

"We'll just have to wait and see," Neji growled, looking away, up at the gray sky.

"Anyway," Naruto resumed, "I will hold two positions!"

Neji did not answer.

Ignoring Neji's silence, Naruto continued his search.

"Naruto, just pick a place!" Sasuke snapped, exasperated.

"For what?" Sabriel asked, endeavoring to keep her voice level and friendly. She was just curious, after all.

The three boys whirled. Both Sasuke and Neji reached for kunai. Sabriel had expected something of the sort, and was ready. As the two boys reached for kunai, she reached to snatch Ranna from its pouch in the bandolier across her chest.

Seeing her hand reach for the bell, both boys checked their instinctive grab for their weapons. Sabriel noted that all three boys were armed.

"Do you carry that thing everywhere with you?" Sasuke asked, annoyed.

"Usually," Sabriel said, shrugging.

They stared at each other.

"Why here?" Sasuke asked.

"What?" Sabriel asked, surprised.  
"Why carry it here?" Sasuke clarified. "The Dead can't cross running water."

Sabriel snorted, her memory flashing to her first trip to this House. "You're forgetting grave dirt."

"So?" Sasuke asked. "This river is over a mile wide."

"There are stepping stones on either side."

"So?"

Sabriel let her breath out slowly. "The first time I came here, I found out just how bad that could be. I had a Mordicant after me on Kerrigor's orders. The Dead used human slaves to chain boxes of grave dirt to each stepping stone on both sides. Without Mogget's advice and the defense of the river, I would have been worse than dead. I would have been a Hand of Kerrigor."

None of the boys spoke when she was done.

Sabriel sighed, hooking a lock of her raven-black hair behind her ear. "But the Gr… the Gre…, oh, I can't tell you. But it is slowly… being fixed."

"What is?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"I can't tell you," Sabriel said. "The Charter is… I can't tell you. It is a binding that cannot be broken."

"It has to do with the Bl…, it has to do with _them_, doesn't it?" Neji asked quietly.

Sabriel stared at him. "How do you know?"

"I can't tell you that," Neji muttered, dropping his eyes.

"For the same reason as I can't tell you," Sabriel muttered. "Well, let's go inside. Naruto, don't say it. You're going to get a different training today."

They exited the bare garden and entered Abhorsen's House.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Abhorsen's Training**_

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_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own _Naruto_ or Garth Nix's _Abhorsen Trilogy_ in any way, shape, or form._

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_**Chapter 4: Training **_

Sabriel yawned. Her tired brain couldn't keep up with all of the surprises of the morning. She was in the study, having shaken off the three boys – for the moment – at the kitchen. Naruto was going to eat all of the noodles in the House before the end of the week. He claimed, however, that he was taking it slow – they weren't as good as ramen.

Slowly, she picked a book off of the shelf. It was a collection of star charts. She stared at it. She was tired, it was true, but surely she wasn't that tired. She put it back on the shelf without looking at it. And she always had the Almanac that her father had given her if she needed a star chart…

"Star charts won't help you unless you're planning to go on a journey some-place," said Mogget.

Sabriel yawned in answer. She was so tired, and she didn't want to argue with Mogget so early in the morning. The prospect of a headache did not appeal to her. "I know. I just picked it out at random."

Mogget opened his small pink mouth to say something, but Sabriel second-guessed what he was going to say. "It's not useful to _them_, but I already know what I'm going to teach them today."

Mogget narrowed his eyes skeptically.

"Mogget…" Sabriel sighed, "What is it that you don't like?"

The only answer she got was stony silence, as Mogget turned her back on her and stalked away, tail quirked into a question mark.

Sabriel watched him go, annoyed. She turned back to the shelves.

-- -- -- -- --

To Sasuke's mind, the Hall was not an inspiring place. He disliked the huge window that took up one wall of the long room, with its dancing Charter marks continuously moving. It unsettled him, and he did not like that, not at all. He watched Naruto eat, bored and annoyed. Naruto could eat anything, it seemed – one reason that he was annoyed. Of course one of the other reasons was the fact that Naruto had woken him up at the crack of dawn, and then had dragged him outside _to train_.

He switched his gaze to the Hyuuga prodigy. He was staring out the window. Well, more precisely, he was staring at the window, but Sasuke didn't bother with distinctions like that.

_"I wonder what he's thinking."_

This thought echoed through two heads. The only thing echoing through the other head was _"Food, food, food…"_

Black eyes and white turned to look at Naruto with disgust. Then both looked away, annoyed.

_"Hn," _Neji thought sourly. _"How does he stand him?" _His gaze flickered from Naruto to the last surviving member of the Uchiha Clan, then back to the Charter-window.

Many of the Charter symbols were totally foreign to him… His memory would not leave him alone… He tried to ignore it… Naruto had beaten him in the Chuunin Exams. Him, Neji Hyuuga, prodigy of the Branch House. Looking at Naruto now, it was hard to believe that he was capable of that sort of thing…

He tried to suppress the memory of his defeat, and was successful. But what replaced it was just as painful, though in a different way…

His sister's face swam before his eyes. She looked as she always did: weak. Fear was etched in the way she held her body, like an alley dog cringing away from an always-expected kick. His anger flared up. He should have been first-born, and she second. He deserved to be in the Main House, and she in the Branch. Again, his gaze flickered to Naruto, oblivious to all but his breakfast. Why had he yelled at her in the Preliminaries? It had given her courage, despite being outclassed. It had been almost pathetic, as he compared their skills in his head. Yet she had given it everything she had, and – at the beginning – she had actually been a threat.

His not-so-nice thoughts were interrupted. "Uh… Neji?"

He snapped out of his reverie as Naruto hesitantly said his name. From the expression on his face, it was probably the third time he'd said it.

"What?"

Before Naruto could open his mouth to respond, Sasuke said curtly, "Charter-sending."

Neji turned in his chair, having had his back to the door. Sure enough, there was a sending standing there in cream-colored robes, with its hood up. Its arms were crossed, and it was tapping its foot impatiently.

"Come on," Sasuke said sourly. "Before this sending drags us out by our ears."

_-- -- -- -- --_

Sabriel was waiting in the study when the boys came up. None of them looked very happy, she noted. But then, she spotted at least part of the reason: Mogget. He was back, and had impudently curled up in a white ball of fluff right in the middle of the floor. Of course, if he got stepped on, it would be his own fault…

"Well, now that you have had some breakfast," Sabriel began, "are you ready to begin?"

Neither Neji nor Sasuke said anything, but Naruto did: "Begin what?"

"The training of an Abhorsen," Sabriel said quietly.

Naruto made a face, but the impassive expressions on Neji and Sasuke's faces didn't shift.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

Something clicked into place in her head. Well, more like crashed. They didn't know why they were here. But caution urged her to avoid the truth. "Hm… That is an interesting question, Naruto."

He looked puzzled for a moment, before his expression turned suspicious as he realized that that was all the answer he was likely to get. He knew his mother didn't care for the Abhorsen.

"Where are the bells?" Sasuke asked, before Naruto could ask anything else. He knew that she wasn't going to divulge the reason that they were here.

Sabriel reached behind her, to the dragon desk. Standing in front of it, the bells could not be seen from their point of view. She picked them up, carefully, so as not to jar them into sound.

"You are observant," she said quietly. "Now, we will start immediately, because it is only a matter of time before I am called away to some part of the Kingdom to deal with the Dead."

She opened the smallest pouch, and withdrew the bell inside. The Charter marks in the dark mahogany handle and in the silver of the bell itself shimmered.

"Wait a minute!" Naruto said.

Mogget interrupted him. "You should know that those are not ordinary tools of a necromancer. Considering your father's… _proximity _to the Abhorsen when he was alive."

Anger, suspicion, pain and – was that fear? – washed over Naruto's face. Before he could retaliate, Sabriel threw a filthy look at the cat. "Remember what I told you, Mogget," she growled.

"Your wish is my command," Mogget said. "After all, I am but a humble servant of Abhorsen."

"Humble my foot," Sabriel muttered. "Ignore him, Naruto. It's the first time that he's been awake with any degree of permanency for… a while."

Mogget made an indistinct noise in his throat as he put his nose back under his tail. "Well, if you're going to teach –"

"Shut up, Mogget," Sabriel said calmly.

The cat didn't respond. He had gone back to sleep.

Sabriel rolled her eyes, and refocused her attention on the bell in her hand. It was silent, for she had immediately rested it on her palm upon its withdrawal from its pouch.

"This is Ranna, the Sleepbringer…"

-- -- --

Sabriel showed them all of the bells, describing the basics that each bell could be used for. She would show them the rest of the properties of the bells as they continued their study…

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_A/N: I forgot to tell ya'll this… I should've done it ages ago… this takes place about sixteen years after the events in _Sabriel. _So, that means about the same time as the events in _Lireal.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Abhorsen's Training**_

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_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own _Naruto_ or Garth Nix's _Abhorsen Trilogy_ in any way, shape, or form._

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_**Chapter 5: Message**_

The training continued. Every morning. Usually, the afternoons were devoted to sword practice, if Sabriel wasn't too busy. If she was, the time was supposed to be spent studying Charter Magic. None of the boys were proficient Charter Mages, though the all had a Charter Mark. They had spent the time up until now being ninja, focusing their efforts upon controlling their Chakra, not their Charter Magic.

On the fifth morning after their arrival, something popped into Sabriel's head during the morning practice. Naruto could no longer access the Nine-Tails' Chakra. He couldn't control it. She had forgotten that. Briefly, she wondered why Rechad hadn't mentioned it when he had dropped the boys off. But then, she reminded herself, with the second seal, Naruto couldn't access the Fox's Chakra, so he wasn't a danger to himself or others. And it didn't interfere with Charter Magic.

She berated herself for forgetting that. How could she have forgotten it? She had seen the third part of the Chuunin Exams, for there had been no threat to the Dead rising at the time. She had _seen _the match between Naruto and Neji. And she knew the dislike, if that was the right word, that existed between them. She had seen Naruto lose control of the Nine-Tails' Chakra. Naruto had used it against Neji, true, but then he had had to struggle not to kill him. He had been declared the winner of the match before he had passed out, and with that, regaining control of the Chakra. But the officials had decided that the Fox had to be completely sealed, such a close miss that it had been.

She was startled out of her thoughts by the arrival of a sending with a scroll. It would be a report of some kind, too long for a message hawk to remember.

She took the scroll with a word of thanks and unrolled it. Sure enough, it was a report. It did not contain good news. A large uprising of the Dead had revealed itself in the Great Sickle Wood. Sabriel's brow furrowed. This was not good. In the past fifteen years, there had been more uprisings of the Dead in the Great Sickle Wood than anywhere else in the Kingdom.

There were still many Dead roaming about the land, it was true, but they were not usually alone. They were traveling in bands, and it was strange. It was sort of nice, though, for she could put down an uprising without running all over the Kingdom. But she suspected a necromancer that had supported Kerrigor was trying to take revenge upon her.

She sighed, looking up from the scroll, into three pairs of eyes. Five days after their arrival, they were still getting used to the sendings – life in general – at Abhorsen's House. Again, her thoughts centered on Naruto. He seemed to be having the most difficulty adjusting. Even though he had born much hatred and prejudice because of the Kyuubi, he still found it hard. What with losing his father –

She couldn't think about Touchstone. It was too painful. She had loved him. But her worked prevented her from being with him. Of course, she was the one who had made 

Touchstone marry. He needed a Queen, and he needed someone who could make him happy. She might be able to fulfill the latter necessity, but she could not fulfill the former. Asrylil fulfilled both requirements.

She glanced down at the scroll again, which reminded her of what she was supposed be doing. She would have to go.

Sabriel announced the uprising in the great Sickle Wood and that she would be required to leave, and got very little reaction. They just looked at her.

She looked down at the scroll again. She thought out plans… Despite the danger of loosing Mogget, she would have to take him. He wasn't in the room at the moment (which meant that he was curled up in a patch of sunlight somewhere), and she would have to track him down…

Then another thought struck her. If she took Mogget with her, she would be leaving three teenage boys – who didn't like each other very much – alone in Abhorsen's House. That was a very bad idea. The sendings might be able to control squabbles, but if they decided to fight… they were ninja, after all…

"No sword practice today," Sabriel said. She noted that none of the boys said anything, not even Naruto.

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_A/N: Sorry it's so short. To the Kyuubi's sealing: it's important later. Don't bombard me with questions about it, 'cuz they're not gonna get answered. _

_This story basically follows the anime up until the point of Naruto's battle with Neji in the Third part of the Chuunin Exams. Oh, and Sasuke doesn't have the Cursed Seal from Orochimaru. (Orochimaru is not in this story)._


	6. Chapter 6

_**Abhorsen's Training**_

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_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own _Naruto_ or Garth Nix's _Abhorsen Trilogy_ in any way, shape, or form._

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_**Chapter 6: Dilemma and Decision**_

After Sabriel had dismissed the three, she sent for a sending to retrieve Mogget. The sending returned holding a very sleepy cat.

She dismissed the sending, and turned to Mogget. "Mogget –"

She sighed when it was apparent that the little white cat wasn't listening. He continued his nap as if he had never been interrupted. Lazy servant.

She needed his advice! If she was to take him with her, she needed his advice on how to handle the dilemma that she would be leaving behind in Abhorsen's House. Could she leave the boys here and trust that the House would still be standing when she returned?

She paced around the study.

She had two options: leave the boys here, or take them with. Neither sounded very appealing.

If only Mogget would wake up…

-- -- -- -- --

Sabriel couldn't focus on anything. Only the argument spiraling around in her head held her attention. Should she take them with or leave them here? She would have a major headache on her hands either way. She had convinced herself that the sendings would not be able to control the three ninja.

So if she couldn't leave them at Abhorsen's House, could she tolerate taking them to the Great Sickle Wood? She had seen enough of the _dislike_ between them to know that it wouldn't be easy traveling with them. They'd bicker the whole way there, if it didn't turn into a full-out battle skirmish.

So they would fight the whole way there… could she leave them alone here?

She was right back where she had started.

-- -- -- -- --

It was late in the afternoon when Sabriel finally gave up wrestling with her dilemma. She knew that the sendings needed their orders because she would be leaving at the crack of dawn, but she had no decision for them. She needed the advice of the little white cat who was dozing on the ladder steps up to the observatory. She almost growled in frustration.

She prepared to walk out of the study when a voice made her stop.

"Yes, Abhorsen?" Mogget asked sleepily.

"Mogget!" she snapped.

"What?" he asked, with a supremely aggravating air.

Trying to control her fraying temper, Sabriel said, "I need your help."

"Well, isn't that a surprise," the little cat muttered sarcastically.

Sabriel decided to ignore the sarcasm and get straight to the point. "Should or should I not take Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuuga, and Sasuke Uchiha with me when I go to the Great Sickle Wood?"

Mogget licked one paw unconcernedly. "It's your choice."

Sabriel rolled her eyes. Of course that's what Mogget would say. "You're coming."

"How nice."

"They semi-respect you, but they don't care for each other."

"You didn't have to tell me what I already knew."

"Look, if they're left here by themselves – with only the sendings to control them – there's going to be some kind of fight," Sabriel snapped.

"Obviously."

"But if they come –"

"Abhorsen," Mogget said sharply, "you said that you would teach them. You knew the problems and consequences that would come."

Sabriel stared at him, annoyed.

"Now, if you've finished floundering for your decision, which should have been obvious, you can go tell the sendings to prepare a Paperwing and supplies," Mogget said.

"Oh, no," Sabriel groaned.

"What?" Mogget asked.

"One Paperwing isn't going to enough to get us all to the Great Sickle Wood."

"Then we'll take two," Mogget reasoned. "That should be the obvious conclusion, Abhorsen. Where is your sense today?"

"Ugh" was the only reply as Sabriel strode out of the study.

-- -- -- -- --

Sabriel entered the quarters that the sendings had prepared for the three boys to find Naruto in his boxers, Sasuke curled up on his bed with a book (his back to the door and Naruto), and Neji nowhere to be seen.

"Oh!" Naruto gasped.

"What are you doing?" Sabriel asked faintly.

"Er…" Naruto mumbled, staring at his bare feet.

"Don't ask," Sasuke growled, not looking up.

"Fine. Where's Neji?"

"Library."

Sabriel sighed silently. "When he gets back, tell him that we're leaving in the morning."

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked.

"The Great Sickle Wood," Sabriel replied. "Assemble what you'll need. We leave with the sunrise."

"Yeah!" Naruto said enthusiastically.

She walked out of the room, glancing back only when she was sure that they wouldn't see. Naruto, having grabbed a shirt, was bustling around, looking for something. Sasuke still hadn't looked up from his book.

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_A/N: I'm ending this chapter here, because I want to have the boys' reactions in their own separate chapter. Let me know what you thought!_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Abhorsen's Training**_

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_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own _Naruto_ or Garth Nix's _Abhorsen Trilogy_ in any way, shape, or form._

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_**Chapter 7: Surprise before Departure**_

Ten minutes after Sabriel had entered the room shared by the three ninja, Neji returned from the library.

He entered their shared room, and was unpleasantly surprised by the flurry of activity within. Naruto was rummaging around in the trunk at the foot of his bed for something. They had each brought a trunk, not knowing how long they would be at Abhorsen's House for. But then, they didn't even know why they were at Abhorsen's House in the first place.

Judging by the mess that Naruto was making, there was something afoot. There was a pair of underwear hanging off of the back of one of the chairs. Sasuke, as usual, was ignoring the idiot. He was curled up on his bed with his back to the chaos.

"What's going on?" he growled.

"You're back!" Naruto cried, looking up.

"Well?"

"We're leaving tomorrow," Sasuke said, still not looking up.

"Yeah, we're going to the Great Sickle Wood!" Naruto said.

"Hn," said Neji, picking his way through the mess in their room to his bed on the opposite wall. He dumped the books that he had found in the library on his bed.

Naruto went back to digging around in his trunk, but Sasuke didn't go back to his book. "What's wrong with you now?"

"Nothing you would understand," Neji replied coldly.

Sasuke snorted, but let the matter lie.

Neji rolled over to face the wall, and waited for sleep… in vain.

"I can't get all my stuff to fit!" Naruto wailed.

"That's because you have to fold them, you idiot," Sasuke growled.

"Huh?"

-- -- -- -- --

Dawn came early for all three of them. Sabriel had told them true, and woken them accordingly. Neji noted that she displayed no sign of tiredness, unlike themselves. She was also elaborately dressed in strange scaled armor and the surcoat of the Abhorsen, complete with bells and sword.

"What's the sword for?" Naruto asked sleepily, rubbing one eye.

For answer, Sabriel unsheathed the blade, drawing a jumpy reaction from Naruto. Charter Marks danced and shimmered over the metal. Neji noted the inscription that they ran through:

_I was made for Abhorsen, to slay those already Dead._

"Come on," Sabriel said, re-sheathing the sword. "The sendings are going to give us some last-minute supplies in the Hall."

She strode out of the room, and the boys followed.

When they entered the Hall, they immediately saw the sendings grouped around the end of the long dining table. To the boys' displeasure, one of them was holding a sleeping Mogget.

"Thank you," Sabriel said to the sending, taking the limp white cat.

Holding Mogget in one arm, she began to inspect the gathered supplies. She was almost done with the last pack when the doors of the Hall opened. The cream-robed sending, flanked by two in black, came in. Each was bearing a surprise.

"What are these for?" Sabriel asked, taking a bandolier of bells from the creamed-robed sending. She ran a hand over the well-oiled leather, the match of her own.

The sendings gestured wildly at the three boys. "That should be obvious," Mogget put in. "If you're going to continue, they ought to have bells."

"Mogget…" Sabriel hissed in his ear.

His only response was to yawn, showing his small pink mouth, the picture of disdain.

Sabriel rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Well, if I'm going to be overruled, then they should have swords, too."

"Correct," Mogget purred. "And I suggest you get _The Book of the Dead, _too."

"I'll be back in a minute," Sabriel almost growled. "If any of you draw a bell while I'm gone, you'll stay here."

She carefully gave each of them a bandolier, and walked out of the Hall.

As soon as Sabriel's back was out of sight, Naruto excitedly opened his mouth. Sasuke made a slashing motion at him with the hand not holding his bandolier.

"Something you don't want me to hear?" Mogget asked with mock concern.

Naruto opened his mouth again, but Sasuke just rolled his eyes, and that settled the matter. They waited in silence for Sabriel to return.

It didn't take long. She silently handed each of them a sword. It was obvious from the spelled sheaths that they were like the one on Sabriel's hip.

She picked up a pack, grabbed the dozing Mogget, and walked out of the room, leaving the three boys to be chivied along by the sendings. Juggling swords, bells, and packs, they followed Sabriel out of the Hall, with the sendings fussing over them.

-- -- -- -- --

Sabriel settled more comfortably into her hammock seat in the Paperwing. After the surprise in the Hall, she felt jittery. The boys had no idea how significant that presentation had been. It meant that no one – not even Mogget, who had been serving the line of Abhorsen for generations – knew who was going to be the next binder of the Dead.

And the fact that they were flying to put down an uprising of Dead didn't help her nerves, either.

Licking her lips, she readied herself to whistle, to summon the Charter Marks she needed. She shifted once more, checked that all of the supplies were securely fastened in their straps, and then whistled the first note.

Behind her, in the other Paperwing, the same note joined hers. With the most extensive knowledge of Charter Magic, Neji had been put in charge of controlling the boys' Paperwing.

As the wind rose behind them, Sabriel began whistling a joyous trill to awake the dormant Paperwing. It began to shift underneath her, eager to be off. The last long, clear note hung in the air as the Charter Mark produced danced to the prow of the craft. It sank into the 

laminated paper at the decorated eyes, making them come alive. And then, suddenly, they were off.

As the wind whipped through her hair, Sabriel forgot her troubles in the joy of flight.

The feeling in the other craft was not so happy.

As the Paperwing leapt off platform on the eastern wall of Abhorsen's House, Sasuke groaned.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Mogget hissed softly. He wasn't going to enjoy this flight, either. He was only in _this_ Paperwing to make sure that these idiots didn't do something stupid. Neji seemed to be the only one with common sense, though that didn't mean much.

"I really hope you know what you're doing, Neji!" Naruto said, his voice slightly higher than usual.

"Shut up."

Mogget growled low in his throat. It didn't help his temper when he reminded himself that none of these boys had ever been off the ground in their lives. This was going to be a _very_ long flight…

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_A/N: Ok, I'm not going into details of why it took me so long to update. I'll just say sorry. Originally, this chapter was two separate, but very short, chapters. I decided to combine them so you, my lovely readers, get a longer chapter, with action._


	8. Chapter 8

_**Abhorsen's Training**_

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_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own _Naruto_ or Garth Nix's _Abhorsen Trilogy_ in any way, shape, or form._

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_**Chapter 8: Plight (Disaster)**_

Until almost the very end, the journey was uneventful. Then disaster struck: Naruto got bored with flight. The other three passengers in the craft were ignoring him: Neji was focused on piloting, Sasuke was trying not to be sick, and Mogget had gone back to sleep.

"Can we catch up to Sabriel?" Naruto whined.

"No," Neji replied curtly.

"Why not?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer!"

Neji ignored him.

"I'm bored."

Neji continued to ignore him.

Naruto struggled to sit fully upright in the hammock-seat with limited success. "Fine," he grumbled, unsnapping several straps. "I'll do it myself."

Neji turned his head slightly towards the blond with narrowed eyes. "You'll do what?"

"Summon a wind myself."

"No, you won't," Neji growled.

"Watch me," Naruto retorted. And he began to whistle Charter Marks.

The wind picked up.

Turning back to the front of the craft to concentrate, something caught the Hyuuga's eye in the silver mirror mounted in the cockpit.

Gore crows. Closing in fast.

"Gore crows," Neji spat the words like a curse.

"Huh?" Naruto said, abruptly cutting off the flow of the Charter – which cost him the control of the wind.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, his face a pale green.

"Uh-oh…"

Neji had lost the focus he needed. The Charter would not come to his mind. He could not save them from a painful death after a drop to earth, because the wind, previously a frightening gale, was suddenly gone. They were going to die.

"Loose my collar!" a yowl sounded above the whistling of the Paperwing as it plummeted at an alarming rate and the caws of the gore crows, still closing.

Mogget was awake. (With all the pandemonium, it is only natural that he would wake up – who could sleep through that?)

"What?" Naruto yelled, more panic-stricken than a moment before.

"Loose my collar unless you want to die!" Mogget screeched.

For a split second, Neji's eyes locked on Naruto's. The emotions in those white eyes showed fear, but there was something else – anger and… a challenge?

"Trust me! And remember the ring!" Mogget howled.

Naruto wasted no more time. The collar, feeling like lead, came off, and then faded away.

Mogget's true form was revealed.

For a moment that felt like eternity, nothing happened. Then he began to glow with a fierce white light, and his form expanded, becoming frayed at the edges. Soon his cat-shape was gone, replaced by a blur.

The thing that had once been Mogget hesitated a bit the instant he was released –murderous aggression focused upon the three boys, but it seemed to be tempered by some inner struggle.

However, this only lasted a second or so, before the mass of white split into four brilliant shafts of light. One shot into the aft, one into the prow, and one into each wing. The craft glowed with the same blinding light as the creature – and suddenly leveled out.

Naruto, only half strapped-in, flew forward, cracking his head on the edge of the cockpit. Neji and Sasuke suffered less, for they were still safely strapped in their hammock-seats. However, Sasuke had hurled over the side of the Paperwing, and was clutching his sword in a knuckle-white death-grip.

were still going way too fast, the gale had increased their speed so. And they were still dropping.

With a savage jerk that would add bruises to bruises, the thing that had once been Mogget braked the Paperwing. The trees of the Great Sickle Wood were still rushing up towards the aircraft. They entered the treetops with a sound like hail on a metal roof as the Paperwing clipped through the boughs like a bullet. They were still going too fast… a landing now would mean utter destruction.

They left the woods behind, now heading towards the sea in the east. The only good thing about that was the ground in front of them looked relatively flat.

With another jarring impact, the Paperwing was braked again. Now they might be able to land… maybe.

The craft was braked more gently this time, and was positioned for a perfect landing. But a rolling hill seemed to spring up from the illusion of a flat plain, right in the middle of their path. They were going to crash.

Crash they did. Naruto was thrown clear of the rubble, and knocked out cold. Neither Neji nor Sasuke was pitched so rudely from the craft, but both were nonetheless knocked out. Sasuke was still clutching his sword, even in unconsciousness. Whatever Mogget was, he had seemingly vanished.

-- -- -- -- --

A figure in black watched the spectacle from the Great Sickle Wood. All of it: the gore crows, though not effective in their purpose of killing the occupants in the Paperwings, _had_ seen everything that had happened in the second Paperwing. And _that_ one was the more important of the two. The Abhorsen could be dealt with shortly. Those boys, however… a plan needed to be developed. After all, a special sort of torture had to be used on his dear brother…

He turned away from the rubble of the second Paperwing, back to the darkest shadows of the forest. He sincerely hoped that that Free Magic thing wouldn't kill them before he could… he would be happy if it settled for killing the Abhorsen. That would make his job just a little bit easier.

-- -- -- -- --

Neji regained consciousness first, though not fast. Everything hurt, but nothing seemed to be broken… his mind tried to coordinate wiggling his hands and feet, but it was beyond him. That minor effort cost him his consciousness.

He awoke again sometime later, to a breeze blowing lightly in his face. It seemed to help him regain some awareness of his present situation… he was still strapped into the ruined Paperwing. But getting out was not an option that he wanted to pursue at the moment.

He slowly turned his head to look around. Sasuke was still out cold in the back of the Paperwing. Naruto was lying some ten feet from the once-beautiful craft, with a couple of bloody lumps on his head. From his crumpled body posture, it looked like he might have some broken ribs. The creature or thing that had been Mogget was nowhere to be seen.

This last sluggish thought finally forced Neji to take some action. If _it_ came back, they were in trouble. With clumsy fingers, he un-strapped himself. The next major task ahead was getting out of the ruins. That took some more time, and he was extremely dizzy by the time he managed it. (The world was tilting at a very strange angle).

After yet another period of disorienting unconsciousness, Neji forced himself to see what could be salvaged from the wreck. It seemed that Sasuke was slowly regaining some awareness of the world around him, because he groaned when Neji accidentally bumped him.

He gathered the small amount of traveling food that Sabriel had given them, and their most important cargo: the bells and the spelled swords. However, there was something wrong. They only had two sets of bells, and one sword.

As Neji painfully hobbled between the Paperwing and his pile of supplies, Sasuke hauled himself out of the back, using his sword as a sort of crutch.

"What 'appened?" he groaned.

Neji wasn't listening, as he had just found the second sword: the one Sasuke was using to stand upright.

"H–" Sasuke started to say, as Neji took the makeshift support. He stopped, however, so that he could turn away and be sick again. Airtravel was not his favorite method of journeying. Add the crash-landing, and he would never go up in the air again.

As Sasuke was violently sick by the remains of the Paperwing, Neji carefully took an inventory of their supplies. There wasn't much: a packet of matches and a few candles that had been put in their tiny food supply in case of emergency, and the bells and swords. The problem was that they were missing a set of bells and a sword.

"Looking for something?" an inhuman voice asked mockingly, crackling with power. It sounded vaguely like Mogget, but not at all like him.

Neji, shielding his eyes, turned to see the white force standing on the other side of the Paperwing. It was vaguely humanoid in shape, but much taller and thinner. Instead of legs, the head and torso were balanced upon a column twisting, blue-white energy. That energy reeked of nerve-jangling, unnatural Free Magic. Sasuke, dry-retching now because of the tangy, hot-metal smell of Free Magic, was backing away from it. Hanging from an indefinable extremity, was a leather bandolier.

"Hmph," said the creature. White fire slid from the "hand" to the bandolier, and within seconds, the only remains of the bells were a few gray ashes that were quickly scattered by the wind.

Then it walked straight towards them, over the Paperwing, which ignited instantly. Its white brilliance against the burning background of the Paperwing was terrifying.

Both boys were rooted to the spot.

"The blood price will be paid," it crackled, laughing. The sound was of a defenseless animal in agony. No vestige of Mogget's voice remained.

Neji's wits came rushing back. Pain forgotten, he grabbed both swords and bells from the pile of supplies. Tossing the first sword to Sasuke, who caught it by reflex, he carefully tried to circle around it.

"That won't work, you know," the thing said gleefully. To prove it, a tendril-like arm whipped across the intervening space and smacked Neji across the face. Searing pain stabbed across his cheek where the Free Magic had touched it, making his eyes water.

"I'll take care of you first," it decided, gliding forward, pushing him away from the burning Paperwing, from Sasuke, from Naruto. "And I'll take my time."

All thoughts of self-defense had fled his mind, along with any useful Charter Marks (though in his state, it was unlikely that he would be able to use the Charter at all). The only thing that seemed logical was to get away from the thing.

Suddenly, it lashed out, grabbing his sword arm, bringing him closer to its boiling flesh. He was afflicted with instant sunburn on arm and face.

"Does that hurt?" it asked softly, a hint of that monstrous laughter in its zapping voice. "It will only get worse, you know."

Trying not to look at it, Neji suddenly remembered the ring.

It was on his free hand, and it felt loose.

"Now what should I do first?" the thing asked itself. "One of your precious eyes, I think, is the best choice."

Turning his head away was useless, but Neji tried it anyway. Every second delayed was a second more that he could try to get that ring around its neck, for it was definitely looser, larger.

His head was forced up, and a painful heat was pressing against his right eye. But he had flipped the ring over its head.

The thing howled, flinging him away from itself, as it tried to pry the ring off. But the silver was shrinking again, forcing its way down that inhuman body, constricting its movement. As much as the creature tried to get it off, it implacably slid downward. Screeching in anger, trying to force fingers under the metal, the force thrashed and twisted. It was no use.

Screaming like a merciless bird of prey, it turned towards Neji, lashing out again on his blind side. (His eye, though still functioning, was so filled with tears that it was very difficult to see out of). He barely got out of the way.

It tried again, with the same result. The ring contracted again. The deadly arms shrank away from Neji, back towards its shapeless body. There were no longer any defining features to it, just a blob of fierce white light, bounded by a silver band. As Neji watched, a ruby formed out of the silver.

He stared at it stupidly. Only when Charter Marks begin to swim across the surface of the silver and the ruby, instructing him in what to do, was his shock broken.

He had to crawl back to the supply pile, for his legs would not hold his weight any more, but he did it. Slowly, he drew Saraneth, the Binder, from its pouch in the bandolier. He rang it just as the Charter Marks instructed.

The resulting peal seemed to echo across the empty land, but seemed, in particular, to wind its way around the white mass. The ring hummed in response. From a blob of its own metal, a miniature Saraneth formed. As it cooled, the ruby's color seemed to run, a red hue like watercolor flowing along the silver. The silver changed and became red leather, supporting the miniature Saraneth.

As the change was completed, the white mass glowed brightly, too brightly to look at. When it dimmed, the fantastic creature of the nightmare was gone. Mogget was once again collared.

He spat a silver ring and then turned his back on the two stunned boys, to look at Naruto, still out cold.

"Well, are you two just going to sit there until nightfall with your mouths open like fish?" Mogget asked in a growl.

"I'll see what I can do," Neji muttered, avoiding looking at the little white cat.

"Uh… yeah…" Sasuke agreed. "We're probably going to need bandages. There might be something we can use in that pile you saved."

-- -- -- -- --

The man in black was watching again. Those boys were going to be more troublesome than he thought. Or at least, that Hyuuga genius would be. If they could bind _that_, serious consideration would have to be taken.

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_A/N: This chapter was especially for you, Altrict! Hope you enjoyed it! _

_Now, this chapter was action-intensive. The action will go down again, but don't worry that it's not going to be as good. Hinata is going to enter the picture soon._


	9. Chapter 9

_**Abhorsen's Training**_

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_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own _Naruto_ or Garth Nix's _Abhorsen Trilogy_ in any way, shape, or form._

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_**Chapter 9: Stuck **_

Naruto's consciousness returned sluggishly. His brain felt waterlogged, as if it had been buried in a stagnant pond. However, as he tried to escape the doldrums, he became aware of a searing pain in his chest.

"He's got at least three broken ribs," diagnosed a methodical voice, "and probably a concussion."

The words traveled like molasses to Naruto's brain. They seemed to mean something, but he had no idea what that something could be.

"Mogget –!" a second voice growled.

"Shut up, Sasuke!" snapped the methodical voice agitatedly. It went on more calmly, "Despite what he did – and it wasn't totally his fault, I'll remind you – he is the only one who has any idea where we can go. For that matter, he's the only one who knows where we _are_."

Naruto tried to make sense of this explanation, but it eluded him. Still, those names were important…

The other voice – the one called Sasuke – had grasped the meaning that eluded Naruto. He snorted. "And how do you propose moving him?"

The muffled response was too low for Naruto's battered senses to catch. But from the tone, it wasn't good.

"We'll go to Belisaere," said the first voice, raised slightly after the retreating footsteps of Sasuke. If there was a response, Naruto missed it… his consciousness was slipping away again…

-- -- -- -- --

Sasuke assembled their pitiful supplies in a bad temper. Mogget simply ignored them. Therefore, while Neji was in charge of Naruto, he also wrestled with their dilemma… how were they going to get to Belisaere?

It was obvious that Naruto needed medical attention badly. Neither Neji nor Sasuke had enough knowledge of the Charter to heal him. With the seal on the Kyuubi so tight that none of its power could escape, they could not wait for it to heal him, either. They could only bind him up as best they could… and hope.

How were they going to get to Belisaere?

All of his knowledge, both ninja and Charter flitted through his head. None of it offered a solution. His thoughts chased themselves in circles inside his head.

How were they going to get to Belisaere?

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_A/N: Sorry it's so short. I guess, though, that I deserve this because I didn't think through my plot… So I had to tweak my plot a little bit. sigh. Please review!_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Abhorsen's Training**_

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_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own _Naruto_ or Garth Nix's _Abhorsen Trilogy_ in any way, shape, or form._

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_**Chapter 10: Rescue**_

_There they were!_

_Sabriel wanted to shout out profanities. The Paperwing was in ashes, they had few supplies, and Naruto was injured… badly. Asrylil was going to kill her._

_She whistled a short series of Charter Marks to bank the Paperwing. It didn't respond quite as smoothly as it should have. That gale had been fierce…_

_ Flashback _

_Without her direction, the wind picked up. She suddenly realized that it had been stronger for some moments, but had been picking up gradually. Then it was gone. For an absurd second, she wondered if she had imagined that wind. _

_But the Paperwing was plummeting._

_Hardly pausing to consider what she was doing, she whistled the first Charter Marks that came into her mind. She was glad that her instinct had summoned the right ones… _

_They had leveled out. But they were going in the wrong direction – straight for the trees of the Great Sickle Wood. This was not exactly how she had wanted to enter it._

_Whistling more Charter Marks raised them above the deadly branches. They just barely clipped the tops of the trees. Flying straight up into the sky, Sabriel recovered her senses…_

_She turned the Paperwing, not realizing how slowly it reacted. Her mind felt battered. Maybe Paperwing travel was cursed…_

_As she slowly glided over the Wood, she saw where she had hit the trees. Sheets of blue laminated paper were caught on some of the branches, and some boughs had been ripped from their trunks._

_She winced internally at the damage. She knew she had to land._

_The landing brought the Paperwing's damage to her attention. It wasn't a smooth landing by any standards. The Paperwing slid to an ungraceful stop on its belly. She hoped no further damage had been caused._

_To her relief, the emergency landing didn't do any more harm that she could see. She knelt under one of the wings and examined it. The problem was obvious. Those laminated sheets that had been torn from the wing were full of guiding Charter Marks. True, the craft could still fly, but it wouldn't be so responsive on this side, nor would it fly so well._

_She was forced to do a quick patch job, trying to guess which Marks to use. She had to find the boys…_

_ End Flashback _

"_Which one of you idiots called that wind?!" Sabriel nearly screeched the moment she was out of the Paperwing._

_Neji looked at her coolly. She wanted to slap him silly. "Naruto."_

_She strode over to the inert body and bent over it before she realized that that was the answer to her question._

_She really wanted to scream._

"_What happened?" she asked snappishly._

_Neji gave the report without emotion, and concluded with "He's got at least three, probably four, broken ribs and very likely a concussion."_

_Sabriel muttered an unintelligible phrase, possibly including curses and "Asrylil", before saying, "His injuries are beyond me. He's got to go to Belisaere."_

"_Yes."_

"_You and Uchiha will have to stay here. The Paperwing is damaged, and it will be risky even with only two people."_

"_Yes, Abhorsen."_

"_Help me get him to the Paperwing."_

"_Yes, Abhorsen."_

_His passive attitude made her want to strangle him. However, Sabriel tried to stay calm. She couldn't afford to explode right now._

_They finally managed to settle Naruto in the Paperwing. It had taken some ingenuity, and the removal of all four packs, before they got it. Sabriel took back her own pack, and climbed in._

"_If you two get into any trouble, I will murder you when I get back!" she shouted as the Paperwing took off._

"_She's lovely, isn't she?" Sasuke muttered._

"_She reminds me of Tenten," Neji said. _

"_That's the Abhorsen for you," Mogget said grumpily._

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_A/N: I know it's short, but you get two at the same time, so you can't complain too much. At long last, we get to meet Hinata in the next chapter. So review, and maybe I'll update faster._


	11. Chapter 11

_**Abhorsen's Training**_

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_A/N: Chapter 11 is here! I'm amazed at how much I've written for this story. (I, unlike you, Altrict, cannot write 5,000 words per chapter). I never thought I'd finish this story, even. So thank you to my dedicated reviewers! You really keep this story going. Thank you! _

_As promised, this chapter is about Hinata. There's even a little NaruHina if you squint. I don't know how much you need to squint to see it; I'm not sure how I did…_

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_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own _Naruto_ or Garth Nix's _Abhorsen Trilogy _in any way, shape, or form._

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_**Chapter 11: Hospital**_

Hinata was sorting clean bandages from the cloths line out in the courtyard of the hospital when the Paperwing arrived. She folded a last small bandage and put it in the proper basket before going to meet the Paperwing.

Instead of taking the most direct route to the front of the hospital – through the ward for the dying – she walked around the side of the building. It wasn't so much that she was disgusted by the dying, but that she couldn't do anything more for them when she had to go see them that bothered her.

It was part of her job here, to tend the most seriously injured. The Clayr would bring her straight back to the Glacier if she shirked her duty. Though the only reason she was in Belisaere in the first place was because she had gotten really sick.

She rounded the corner of the building just as the Abhorsen got out of the Paperwing. Hinata thought she looked exhausted. She had good reason: the Paperwing was in horrible shape.

"I need to see the Queen immediately," she said.

The women who had gathered in front of her looked at one another, shocked.

"Let us treat the patient," one of them requested.

"That would be best, while I go see Asrylil," the Abhorsen replied.

"Are you certain that you want to do that?" asked the head nurse. "She's not in the best of moods right now, you know."

Hinata sensed that there was a current of underlying meaning in that sentence. Her thoughts flickered over her brother and the vision that Sakura had had.

"She's going to be in a worse mood after I see her!" snapped Sabriel. "Now get Naruto into that hospital while I go see her!"

Hinata started. Naruto? She hadn't seen him since his match against her brother in the Chuunin Exams. Her crush, though, hadn't changed, despite the fact that she was now a part of the Clayr.

Sabriel noticed the movement. Hinata was too exposed where she was. But now that Sabriel had seen her, it was no use running into the building. Especially if Naruto was injured.

"Hinata Hyuuga?" she asked.

Hinata started again.

"What are you doing here?" Sabriel asked, puzzled.

"She was sick, Abhorsen –" one of the helpers said.

"That nasty flu, you know –" another chimed in.

"The Clayr are allowing her a short period here in Belisaere to develop her medical skills," the Head Nurse said graciously, cutting the babblers off.

"Ah," Sabriel said thoughtfully.

"Yes," agreed the Head Nurse.

"I'm sure she would love to take care of him after you get him settled in," Sabriel said to her.

"You're right," she agreed. "It would do her good to look after someone her own age while she's here."

Something was passing between the two women that made Hinata feel slightly jittery inside, like she had butterflies fluttering against her stomach.

"Well, I must be going," Sabriel said. "Asrylil will not hear the news from anyone else. I'll leave Naruto in your capable hands." Again, Hinata felt a double meaning in the Abhorsen's words.

"Of course," the Nurse agreed. "Everyone, we've got work to do!"

As the women gathered around the damaged Paperwing, Sabriel walked off.

-- -- -- -- --

They wouldn't let her help with the Charter healing, so Hinata went back to sorting the bandages from the cloths line.

Small, large, medium, medium, large… She focused on her task, knowing that she would only get in the way if she tried to help. The nurses and helpers were all very nice to her, but they were just a bit motherly because she couldn't say a sentence without stuttering. They thought she was a little dear, but not very bright.

Hinata never mentioned her life as a ninja. She wanted to leave that behind her. She wanted something else from life.

When she finished sorting, she dragged the baskets into the hospital to the cupboards in the hall.

"Oh, dear, let me do that," a helper said.

"N-no, I'll d-do it," Hinata replied.

"But we're done! He wants to see you!"

"R-really?"

"Of course! Now leave those baskets to me."

"Th-thank you," Hinata nearly squeaked.

"Go on," she said, making shooing gestures. "He's in the recovery ward. He's amazingly strong."

"_Of course Naruto is strong,"_ Hinata thought. _"People still look down on him because of th-the Nine-Tailed Fox."_

She walked down the short hallway to the recovery ward. It was mercifully empty of helpers and nurses alike.

Naruto was lying in a bed in the middle of the room, surrounded by empty beds. (There were only two other occupants at this time, since this ward had a more fluid list than the ward for the dying). And he was awake.

"Hinata?"

She blushed as soon as he said it.

"Y-yes, Naruto?"

She walked to his bed and sat on one of the ones next to it, but she couldn't think of anything more to say.

"How bad was I hurt?"

"Y-you had four broken ribs and a c-concussion," Hinata replied. "Y-you will have to stay in bed for a f-few more days."

He groaned.

"Th-they couldn't treat y-your c-concussion all that well," she explained, feeling the urge to elaborate. Everyone knew how Naruto hated being cooped up.

"Do you know what happened after the crash?" he asked.

"I-I don't know th-the details…" Hinata stammered, wondering what on earth he was talking about.

"Oh, okay," Naruto muttered, looking away.

She watched him, struggling to decide what she could tell him about Sakura's vision. Finally, she just gave up. She told him everything:

"N-Naruto? Do y-you know w-why you were taken to – to the House?" She was stuttering worse than usual. She was afraid of this future that Sakura had seen, and it didn't help that she was talking to her crush.

"No…"

"Th-there was a v-vision…"

"So?"

"S-Sakura Saw y-you and N-Neji and S-Sasuke together, f-facing an army of the D-Dead after – after I-I talked t-to one of you."

Naruto tried to sit up in bed. Blushing furiously, Hinata put a hand on his shoulder to keep him down. "But that doesn't make any sense!" he protested.

"I-I don't know w-what it means, either," she said quietly. She didn't want to tell him the rest of the vision.

"Was there any more?" Naruto demanded.

She couldn't tell him. "N-no…"

His whole body seemed to go limp. "I don't get it," he muttered, more to himself than to Hinata.

"I-I don't, either."

Naruto heaved a noisy sigh. "I wish I could help them if that's what's coming."

"W-who?"

"Sasuke and Neji."

A little shiver went down Hinata's spine at the mention of the two cold-eyed boys. She hoped she suppressed it. "W-why?"

He shrugged. "The nurses said that Sabriel was forced to leave them with the wreaked Paperwing. We were going to the Great Sickle Wood to put down an uprising of the Dead, and that's near where the Paperwing crashed."

"O-oh." She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Are you all right?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"W-what?!" Hinata squeaked, caught off guard.

Naruto stared at her. "You're really nervous, I guess. Is there something wrong?"

"N-no, of course n-not…"

"If you say so," Naruto said doubtfully.

"I'm – I'm f-fine," Hinata tried to reassure him.

Naruto shrugged, and then yawned sheepishly.

"Y-you should get some sleep."

"All right, I guess," he grumbled.

"You'll heal faster," she assured him.

As Naruto slipped into a peaceful sleep, a delegate from the Queen beckoned to her. She had seen him quietly enter the ward over Naruto's head, but he seemed to have some respect for the patients here.

However, as soon as they were out in the hall, he dropped the manner. "You are required to return to the Clayr."

"W-why?" Hinata asked, more shocked than shy.

"The future has changed," he answered.

"I-it is always changing," she replied uncertainly.

"You know what I'm talking about," he nearly snapped.

"N-no, I don't."

"The _vision_."

"O-oh," Hinata stammered. Slowly it sank in. Asrylil thought she was trying to manipulate her son. "N-no! I-it's not like that!"

He just stared hard at her. She didn't know what to say.

When it became clear that she was not going to break the uneasy silence, he spoke. "A Paperwing will be here shortly to pick you up."

Hinata still didn't say anything.

"You should get ready to leave." He turned and walked away without another word. Hinata stared after him.

-- -- -- -- --

Hinata entered her tiny closet of a room a few minutes later, bewildered. Why would the Queen want her to return to the Clayr just because she had been talking to her son? She knew about the vision – all of it. Did she really think that Hinata would hurt the three boys it was about?

She wanted to think through this vision, but she knew she couldn't afford the time. The Queen must have called for a Paperwing from the Clayr as soon as she had received the message from the Abhorsen. It would be in Belisaere within the hour.

She wouldn't be able to say good-bye to Naruto.

She desperately wanted to go talk to him again, but she had to pack up her few belongings – most of her clothes were on the cloths line right now. Her knapsack, a loan from the Clayr, sat in the corner. Halfheartedly, she picked it up. As she assembled her small stock of belongings, she wondered if the Queen had planned that she would not have time to say good-bye.

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_A/N: Well, there it is. Let me know what you thought. If you want me to add the formal endings, (-kun, -chan, -san, etc.), let me know that, too._

_Don't expect Chapter 12 for ages. I'm going to be dropping off the face of the planet for a while, FYI._


	12. Chapter 12

Abhorsen's Training

_**Abhorsen's Training**_

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_A/N: After months and months, Chapter 12 is finally here. Yeah. I'm not dead. _

_Just read it._

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_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own _Naruto_ or Garth Nix's _Abhorsen Trilogy _in any way, shape, or form._

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_**Chapter 12: Travel Preparations**_

Sabriel tried to stifle a yawn as she checked the straps of the Paperwing. It was just after dawn, and she meant to be gone by the time the sun was sitting on the tops of the trees.

She ran a hand over the laminated blue paper of her craft. It was faithful, and after some patching by the Paperwing maker here in Belisaere, it was ready to safely fly again. She patted it absently, her thoughts on the two boys she would be picking up later in the day. She hoped they hadn't done anything stupid.

That thought directed her feet towards the whitewashed building several paces away, sitting next to the Paperwing hangar.

She walked inside and made her way to the ward where Naruto would be waiting for her. Sure enough, Naruto was bouncing impatiently against his pillows when she poked her head in.

She sighed. He was ready to be active again, despite the bashing he had received only yesterday. The Kyuubi really did work wonders, apparently.

She wondered why he was still sitting in bed like a good boy. Maybe Hinata had asked him to? Sabriel knew that the shy girl had seen Naruto after his healing, and that the blond had asked after her this morning.

He hadn't liked the fact that she was back at the Glacier.

The helpers had told him that an urgent message had summoned her back to her duties – which was only a slight bend on the truth – but he hadn't liked it at all. Sabriel suspected that he didn't want to believe it.

As she traveled along the row of beds, Naruto's eyes racked over her gear. His face broke into an unconscious grimace. He knew what her surcoat meant.

Knowing she was in for an argument, Sabriel said tiredly, "Lay back, Naruto."

"Why?" he demanded.

"You need rest," she answered, wishing that she had time for it herself. Asrylil had kept her long into the night, questioning her. It had been unpleasant.

"They healed me," he said stubbornly. "I'm better."

"Yes, and you'll jump out of bed and hurt yourself again," she snapped. The Queen had nearly accused her of not keeping him out of trouble.

Naruto flinched a little at her harsh tone.

She softened. "Sorry. I didn't get out of council with your mother until late last night."

"Oh," he said quietly. "Right."

She sighed. "I _am_ sorry, Naruto. I promised your mother…"

As he looked up keenly, she mentally cursed herself for being careless.

"What did you promise my mother?" he asked eagerly.

"Nothing, Naruto," Sabriel said, knowing full well that he would ply her with questions about her slip.

"What did you promise her?"

"Nothing…"

Comprehension dawned in his blue eyes. "It has to do with the vision, doesn't it?" he blurted out. "It does! I bet the vision explains everything, too! Why Mother has been acting so uptight and –!"

"Where did you learn that?" Sabriel asked sharply. Had she been so tired that she had let _that_ slip, too?

The blond realized his mistake and clamped his mouth shut.

"Where?" she asked more sharply.

He dropped his eyes to his coverlet and didn't answer.

"This is important, Naruto!" Sabriel snapped. _"Where did you learn that information?"_

She could see him struggling to hide it, but he was having about as much luck as she had had. Though he was distracted at the moment… In a small voice, he answered, "Hinata told me yesterday… when she came to visit."

The Abhorsen slumped back in her hard chair. "So Asrylil was right…" she murmured to herself. The Queen's voice, hard with anger, rang in her head._ "It is coming to pass._"

"About what?" Naruto demanded, forgetting for a moment that he was in trouble.

Sabriel jerked out of her reverie. Flustered, she glared. "You know too much already," she snapped.

"Says you!" Naruto shouted, flaring at her temper. "I don't feel like I know anything! You're the one who knows all the facts!"

"All I know is my duty!" Sabriel snapped. "Putting down the Dead!"

Naruto shifted sulkily against his pillows. "Yeah, so?" he grumbled. "You get to do more than I'll ever get to."

Sabriel was shocked at his sudden change. So he was feeling as badly as she had suspected, perhaps worse. Her voice was grating when she spoke, though she tried to make it gentle. "Do you really think that? One day, you'll rule the Kingdom."

He snorted. "Right."

Her anger returning, Sabriel tried to control herself. "Do you really want all that responsibility _right now_?"

"It's better than doing nothing," he muttered.

Not knowing what to say to that, Sabriel abruptly changed the subject. "I'm leaving."

"When?" Naruto asked instantly.

"As soon as we're done talking."

"I'm coming!" Naruto announced, swinging his legs out of bed on the opposite side from Sabriel. He was only clothed in his undergarments, but that didn't seem to bother him. He poked into the cupboard at his bedside. "D'you know where my clothes are?" he asked as an afterthought.

"No," Sabriel said faintly. She had had quite enough of seeing Naruto clothed in very little. "But you're _not_ coming, so you don't need to worry about it."

"I am so!"

"You need to rest!"

"If you don't let me come with you, I'll take my own Paperwing," Naruto threatened.

He had her then. The damage he could cause…

"Naruto, I am going to skin you alive if we get out of this," Sabriel vowed, shaking her head.

"You'll be lucky," Naruto said darkly. "Mother's going to kill me first."

_True_, Sabriel acknowledged. And, for good measure, she'd probably kill the Abhorsen, too. Groaning inwardly, she said, "I'll leave you to get dressed while I do some final checks on the Paperwing."

Though she knew it to be perfectly prepared, she wanted some time to think. She did _not _understand ninja…

In less time than Sabriel thought possible, she and Naruto were in the air, winging back to the rolling plain at the edge of the Great Sickle Wood.

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_A/N: Ah, crap. I think I unintentionally put a whole load of foreshadowing into this chapter… _

_Well, you know the drill. R&R!_


	13. Chapter 13

Abhorsen's Training

_**Abhorsen's Training**_

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_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own _Naruto_ or Garth Nix's _Abhorsen Trilogy _in any way, shape, or form._

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_**Chapter 13: Into Ambush**_

Sabriel kept the winds under control as they flew steadily south, but she paid scant attention to the landscape. This whole business bothered her. But her jumbled thoughts would not be ordered.

Naruto was very quiet in the back of the Paperwing, but Sabriel did not spare much thought for him. When he suddenly spoke, she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Look! There it is!"

She glanced down; sure enough, the heap of ashes was off to their left. However, neither boy was in sight – and there was something else… a trail. As they banked to the left, Sabriel looked over her shoulder. She could see the small pile of supplies Neji had gathered off to the right.

Where were they?

Suddenly, a screech ripped through the air.

_"Abhorsen!"_

Sabriel's head jerked around. She searched frantically for the voice. Then she saw a white streak on the ground, aiming for the crash site. It came from the direction of the Great Sickle Wood.

"It's Mogget!" Naruto shouted. Apparently, he had learned nothing from his last flight; he was half-upright.

"Lie down!" she hissed.

He did as he was told without question or complaint. Maybe he had learned something after all.

She whistled Charter Marks for descending, but she let them out slowly. They circled the crash site warily. Mogget was below them, watching the Paperwing come down to earth.

She brought them to a smooth landing. Naruto was clearly itching to leap out of the craft. "Stay where you are!" she commanded. The smell of rotting flesh was strong.

She climbed out of the Paperwing and pulled her sword out of its holder at the bottom of the cockpit. Buckling the sheath to her waist, she drew the spelled sword. Only then did she approach Mogget.

"What happened?" she asked.

"An ambush," the white cat growled.

"An ambush?" Sabriel echoed.

Mogget hissed sourly. "Yes, an ambush. Whoever is controlling this hoard is good at it, too. He or she knows how to attack ninja."

"Details, Mogget," Sabriel said.

"They were downwind, so we didn't smell them coming. They got close enough to attack without us hearing them, either –"

"How?" Naruto asked. He was sitting up in his seat, but he hadn't tried to disobey Sabriel's order.

"Free Magic," Sabriel guessed.

"I think so," Mogget growled. "And by the time we smelled it…"

"What happened?"

"Well, neither of them touched a bell," Mogget meowed, "which is good, in a way. But the Dead surrounded us without regard for themselves, obviously." He nodded at the rotting body parts lying in the sun. "And they herded the boys away."

"How?" Sabriel asked.

Mogget spit. "They just kept moving in that direction" – he nodded toward the Wood – "and they had no choice."

"We've got to go after them," Sabriel said.

Mogget snorted, but did not say anything.

"It's going to be hard," she agreed. "Come on, Naruto."

The rescue party strode toward the Wood with forced confidence.

-- -- -- -- --

The figure in black watched the team march towards the trap with amusement. He had the perfect bait. And it was an added benefit that he got to torture that bait at the same time.

He raised a pale hand and pointed at the on-coming party. Dead Hands moved out of the shadows, bone scraping on bone. He didn't care about the noise; now that he had his bait, the Abhorsen would fight her way through to him. He chuckled at that. He would enjoy taking her life and enslaving her spirit.

"I _am_ going to kill you," rasped a voice behind him.

The figure turned around to face the last surviving Uchiha with a smile on his face. "Really, Sasuke?"

The boy's head was bowed, his eyes hidden by his black bangs, for his headband was gone. His body shook, and his chest heaved as he panted for breath. The high-collared blue shirt was in tatters and shallow cuts crisscrossed his body. He would have fallen flat on his face if he had not been suspended by his wrists. The cord forced him to stand, just barely on tiptoe, with his arms stretched out, baring his chest to attack.

He glared up through his bangs, his eyes glowing blood-red from the Sharingan. It was a hated-filled glare, and with those unnatural eyes, it would have unnerved most enemies.

However, the figure in black just laughed and repeated his question, "Really?"

Snarling like a wild animal, Sasuke lunged against the cord, making the welts on his wrists still deeper.

The figure in black leaned against a tree, watching his struggles with a twisted smile on his face. After a few moments, Sasuke went limp.

"You're still not strong enough," he said silkily.

With his head bowed again, it was impossible to tell if Sasuke was listening or not.

"So, you're traveling with this witch," he went on. "If you're trying to get stronger, don't bother."

"I'm going to kill you!" Sasuke screamed, lunging again.

"Haven't you figured it out yet, Sasuke?" he asked.

"What?" he snapped.

"You can't kill me. Because I'm already dead."

Sasuke stood there, shocked.

"I may not have… _retained_ my ninja skills, but that doesn't matter. I still have the Mangekyou Sharingan. It's quite useful, too…"

Sasuke seemed to be trying to step back, away from Itachi, but the cords held him. "You… that's…"

"Well, you stay here like a good little boy, while I go take care of the Abhorsen," he said as Sasuke made another attempt to break free. "Hyuuga ought to be enjoying himself right now, so I don't have to worry about you."

Without concern, Itachi Uchiha walked away.

-- -- -- -- --

Sweat trickled down Sabriel's forehead as she slashed at another Dead Hand with her sword. In the first moments of battle, she had used Ranna to quell the hoard, but they kept coming, streaming out of the Wood, totally mindless.

She heard a Hand shuffling behind her. She whirled, ready to cut off its head, but there was Naruto, lethal with kunai.

"Thanks, Naruto!" she gasped.

Naruto gave her a fox-grin before _poofing_ out of existence. A clone.

He really was very good at using his clones to his best advantage. Even so, they would be overcome soon. She jabbed her sword into the belly of a Hand. It screamed as blue-white sparks burst into brilliance where sword met shadow-flesh.

The tide kept pressing in on them. Suddenly, Sabriel realized something. Though the Hands were shambling into battle, they weren't exactly trying to kill their quarry. It was more like an… _ambush! _

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_A/N: Well, what'd ya think?_

_I promise you, Naruto will get his glory. _

_And Hinata is going to make a re-appearance with a friend._


	14. Chapter 14

_**Abhorsen's Training**_

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_A/N: Reasons why this update took so long:_

_--I don't like this chapter._

_--Since I don't like this chapter, I attempted to rewrite it about four times._

_--Then I found my original notes for this chapter, requiring yet another rewrite._

_--Unfortunately, Reasons 2 and 3 made no difference to the overall outcome. Therefore, I stalled._

_--…But I'm going to be murdered after this chapter is read anyway…_

_--I wrote Chapter 15 to explain why this chapter is necessary._

_--I went ahead and edited the all of the previous chapters – except Chapter 3. Damn formatting._

_Those are the main reasons. Please don't kill me…_

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_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own _Naruto_ or Garth Nix's _Abhorsen Trilogy _in any way, shape, or form._

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_**Chapter 14: Battles in Death**_

"Ambush!" she gasped out loud. She staggered to a stop in a little shade-dappled clearing. Even as the horrible truth dawned on her, she realized that they had arrived at their destination.

Eyes darting, she took quick stock of the surroundings. The sun, though shining overhead, left only dappled light on the forest floor; the thickly intertwined branches were an effective barrier against it. Thus, the Hands milling at the edges of the clearing were nearly invisible in the gloom. Only two things stood out in the scene: the dominating black shape before her, and the pitiful body beyond.

She recognized the battered, bloody person just as Naruto exclaimed, "Sasuke!"

The burning, blood-red eyes of the foremost figure flickered from Sabriel to Naruto. He chuckled. The sound of Free Magic jarred in Sabriel's ears. "The Nine-Tails can't help you here," he gloated.

She glanced at Naruto, a little to her left. His body was rigid with shock and anger. At this pronouncement, his gaze flashed from Sasuke to the necromancer's face. All the rage seemed to drain slowly out of his body; it was as if he was being hypnotized as the necromancer went on, "But it shall soon be free!"

"Don't look at him," Sasuke rasped.

Sabriel jumped at the unexpected command; Sasuke looked as though he was about to pass out. It was obvious that he would be flat on his face if he wasn't being suspended by his wrists.

"Don't look at his eyes, Naruto!" Sasuke howled. "Itachi's toying with you!"

Sabriel's brain made a leap of intuition. Everything made sense. But before she could draw any conclusions from her newly discovered information, Itachi spoke.

"You're ruining my fun, little brother," he said carelessly, flicking a kunai at him without looking. A razor-thin cut appeared on Sasuke's shoulder. However, he gritted his teeth and didn't cry out.

"Leave him alone!" Naruto shouted, all his anger returning.

"Why should I?" Itachi taunted.

"Because you'll have to deal with me if you don't!"

Itachi chuckled again. "I think I'll enjoy this."

Naruto was trembling with anger. "Basturd –"

Itachi casually flicked a kunai, and a bloody cut appeared on Naruto's cheek. "I suggest you watch your language."

"Shut up!"

"My, my, you have a foul temper."

"I'm going to kill you!" Naruto hissed.

Itachi laughed, the sound even worse than Mogget's electric, bloodthirsty cackle. "You? When you're even weaker than my dear little brother here?"

"I'm not weak!"

"Then let's see how you fare in Death."

"No!" Sabriel gasped. But she could tell that he was already reaching out for the border. Cold air was billowing out from him. "Naruto, don't follow him!"

But it was too late. Frost was forming on Itachi's body, and even as Sabriel reached out to prevent him, Naruto hurled himself at the border.

-- -- -- -- --

Naruto gasped in shock as the cold water wrapped around his legs. It was much colder than he had anticipated. The light was odd, too. The uniform grayness of it made judging distances impossible.

He pulled out a kunai, wishing he had one of those nifty Charter-spelled swords instead. Presumably, Sasuke and Neji had taken them earlier. He tried not to think about them as he began to slosh forward, trying to look in every direction at once.

Before he really realized it, he had reached the First Gate – the entrance into the Second Precinct. Only the strengthening of the river's current had forewarned him. He stood looking at the veil of mist, knowing that he had to go on, as Itachi was nowhere to be seen.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke words of Free Magic, feeling it blister his tongue and lips, parching his throat. It was very strange, in this place of deep chill. He watched, almost bemused, as the veil of mist parted, to reveal a series of waterfalls dropping down, down into blackness. He spoke again, gesturing to left and right, and a narrow path appeared. He stepped onto it, traveling through the First Gate.

Time was slippery here, and he couldn't tell how long it took to traverse the Gate. However, he had enough time to think about his decision, to wonder if he was being stupid. Why had he accepted Itachi's challenge, when he had never entered Death before? Imagining Death from the descriptions in _The Book of the Dead_, sitting in a comfy armchair at Abhorsen's House, was entirely different than entering it for real.

Trying to ignore his thoughts, he realized that he was in the Second Precinct. The river was flat again. Warily, he sloshed onward. He encountered nothing except a nasty hole. Only his ninja training saved him from being swept away by the river.

Now soaked and gasping, Naruto approached the Second Gate, stopping well back from the whirlpool. He didn't want to go under again. Speaking more words of Free Magic, the whirlpool slowed and stopped at his command. He stepped onto the spiral path, hearing the whirlpool begin again above and behind him.

He exited the base of the whirlpool, where the river only ankle-deep and a bit warmer. He marveled, too, at the quality of the light. Though still gray, it was easier to see. He wondered why Itachi hadn't waited to ambush him here; it would be easy to see him coming. But then he remembered the Third Precinct's trap. It had waves.

As soon as the thought entered his head, he was running flat-out. The thunder of the wave, however, was gaining. Pushing himself even faster, he spied the Third Gate. It was another waterfall cloaked in mist. Just barely ahead of the wave, he cried out the Free Magic spell to part the mists, praying that he would be in time.

He was, though had he been a second slower, he would have been part of the wave's cargo. He stood at the head of the path, taking deep breaths, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. After a few seconds, he began his descent into the Fourth Precinct.

The Fourth Precinct was much like the First, without traps: just the strong pull of the current. There were also few Dead about, because of the Third's wave. But Naruto remained wary. Death was not a pleasant place.

The current became even stronger, and he knew that he had come to the Fourth Gate. It was yet another waterfall, but without the mist. It looked like a short drop in comparison to the others, too. But he could not be fooled. If the current was this strong, the waterfall was longer than it looked. He spoke words of Free Magic, feeling the burn and heat in his mouth.

Unlike the paths for the First and Third Gates, this path rolled out, narrow and ink-black and horizontal, from the top of the waterfall. He took the path, knowing that it was the only way to cross the Fifth Precinct, and knowing also that he was likely to meet something going the other way. He hoped he wouldn't.

In the Fifth Precinct, the river was deep and metamorphic. Anything that spent time in its water would not resemble its once-living form. For this reason, most of the Dead waited for a necromancer to summon the path. Then they would rush down it, hoping to overwhelm the summoner with a sudden, vicious attack.

But nothing attacked him.

The back of his neck prickled as he came to the end of the dark path. The river continued to flow beyond, but it flowed _upward_. It wasn't a waterfall: it was a waterclimb. He shivered unconsciously, glad that he couldn't see how far up it extended. He tried not to think too much as he spoke the hot-metal Free Magic words, knowing that the waterclimb would reach out and grab him, and carry him up with it.

And that was exactly what happened. A long tendril of water reached out towards him, wrapping around his body without actually touching him, and lifted him upward. After several minutes of traveling with the current – the Fifth Precinct was lost in the fuzzy light – the tendril holding him stopped. Bracing himself, Naruto waited. The tendril suddenly snapped back into the waterclimb, and he was hurtled into the Sixth Precinct.

It was a huge pool, not a river – there was no current. But lots of Dead milled about. And in the center of the mass… Itachi.

He looked nothing like the body that Naruto had seen in Life. Though the same height, his shoulders were wide, wider than any human's, and his torso balanced on a thin waist and spindly legs. His arms extended down to his knees, and ended in sharply clawed hands.

But his eyes… his eyes were exactly the same: cold, cruel, blood-red. They made Naruto shiver more than Itachi's deformed appearance.

"You made it," he laughed. Fire burned in his mouth, behind his needle-thin teeth.

"You can't stop me."

"Oh, but I can."

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted, forming hand-seals.

Itachi spat out something – something that he realized, too late, was Free Magic. Blue lightning cracked across the Precinct.

He managed to dodge it, but lost his footing in the process. He fell with a splash. In his peripheral vision, he could see the Dead moving towards him. They wanted his life.

He flipped himself up onto his feet, throwing kunai in the same motion. He caught at least one of them in the eye, but didn't look. Itachi was his target.

He hadn't moved.

Starting to get angry, Naruto fished out a few shuriken, but did not throw them. As much as he wanted to run at him head-on, he had to admit that that was suicide. He was surrounded by the Dead. He needed a plan.

"Keep thinking, Naruto," Itachi said silkily.

"Shut up!"

The blue lightning flashed again.

That was going to be a problem. Itachi could use it as much as he wanted, and Naruto couldn't touch him. How could he get close enough to kill him?

He ran to the right, watching Itachi closely. He didn't move. So he was confident enough not to bother with the Mangekyou Sharingan. That was good… or was he not using it because he _couldn't_ in Death? That thought was worrisome. If he couldn't use it in Death, did that mean that he couldn't use his Chakra…?

He stopped short. If he couldn't use his Chakra in Death… well, there was only one way to find out the truth. Flinging the shuriken at random, he formed hand-seals. The blue lightning interrupted him. Itachi wasn't going to let him find out the answer to his question.

…So did that mean that he _could_?

He really needed a plan. He wasn't getting anywhere this way. But how was he supposed to attack an opponent stronger than himself in their own territory? He wracked his brain. Nothing occurred to him. But it did give him the answer to a question he hadn't wanted to ask himself.

Why didn't Itachi fight in Life?

He had the advantage there, too. Sabriel would have her hands full with that mob of Hands, and Sasuke was in no condition to fight. Neji and Mogget hadn't even been around. Comparatively, he had the greater advantage in Life. So why fight in Death, where the river's current tugged at everyone indiscriminately, and the Dead hungered?

That meant that he had greater power in Death… and that he had a plan to use it. Naruto shivered at this revelation.

"Scared?"

"No!"

"Oh, I think you are," Itachi said. "I take it that you've realized how close you are to the Ninth Gate, from which there is no return?"

Naruto started. In fact, he hadn't really considered that. If he died here, if he passed through the Final Gate, he would die in Life, also.

"That's your plan, isn't it?" Naruto asked harshly. "Kill me in Death, so that I can't go back."

"Very good," Itachi congratulated him. "But you missed the most important part."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"I'm not going to be the one who kills you."

"Uh-huh, right, like I believe that."

"But it's the truth, Naruto. The Kyuubi's going to be the one to kill you."

He froze. So that was Itachi's plan. He recognized the truth when he saw it; power had surged through his body at the plan. The Kyuubi was aroused.

"Oh, no."

Itachi could use Free Magic very subtly. Now that he realized it, the use of the blue lightning was obvious. Itachi had been feeding Free Magic into his body… to free the Kyuubi.

And there was nothing he could do to stop him.

"The fear in your eyes," Itachi purred. "You know what's going to happen after the Kyuubi is released, I trust?"

"What?" Naruto asked automatically. He couldn't give up! He had to stop Itachi!

"It will make its way back to Life and destroy everything."

His stomach clenched at that, and he tasted acid-hot bile in his mouth. It reminded him of the taste of Free Magic. And it gave him an idea.

"I'm going to stop you," he said, taking a few steps forward.

"That line is getting tiresome from you, when it is so obvious that you can't back it up," Itachi said, the barest hint of annoyance in his voice.

If Itachi got annoyed, it was all for the better. He'd make a mistake. At least, Naruto hoped he would. But it didn't matter that much. As long as Itachi followed him, he didn't care about that. It was just a bonus.

Now, how to go about this?

The only way, of course. The head-on attack.

He grabbed some shuriken from his pouch, but then hesitated. Could Itachi guess what he was about to do? Probably. Oh, well. There was nothing for it. Unleashing the shuriken, he charged.

Itachi's eyes widened in surprise, and then narrowed. "I should have expected this from you," he growled. But the blue lightning didn't strike. Instead, Itachi began muttering – he was going to use a different Free Magic spell.

Something a lot worse than lightning, Naruto surmised. He'd just have to avoid it.

He was mere feet from Itachi.

He whipped out a kunai, and tried to rip through the shadow-stuff of this Greater Dead creature who had once been Itachi. Faster than his eyes could follow, one arm slapped him up alongside the head, knocking him off-balance.

He landed in the water yet again with his head ringing.

But, despite his vulnerability, Itachi didn't take the advantage. Naruto got away from him as fast as he could, scrambling to his feet. Then he froze.

His body wouldn't respond.

As his brain processed this, he realized that Itachi had stopped muttering. Oh, no.

"May I ask why you did that?"

"You can ask, but I won't answer!"

He was relieved that he could still talk. His plan hadn't failed yet, after all. He hoped he was far enough away from the Fifth Gate.

"You knew that attacking me head-on was futile. That's why you didn't use it in the beginning. So you have come up with a plan, I take it?"

"What of it?"

"I'm merely wondering at the ineffectiveness of it."

"It hasn't failed yet!" Naruto said. With that, he spoke the words of Free Magic to open the Sixth Gate. The water under him boiled away, leaving a dry circle some ten feet across behind.

With satisfaction, he saw Itachi's eyes widen in surprise. Then the dry circle under Naruto's feet began sink down, down, down, and the Sixth Precinct was no longer visible. He was on his way to the Seventh Precinct: into the deep reaches of Death.

-- -- -- -- --

Sabriel entered the Sixth Precinct to see Itachi leaving it, the Gate bearing him downward. She didn't like the look on his face.

She'd fought the Hands in Life, avoided traps in Death, only to miss the necromancer by seconds. Now the masses of Dead in the Sixth Precinct barred her way. She let out her breath in a huff; she did _not_ have time for this. Curse Naruto for making this so difficult.

She had to assume that Itachi was following the idiot now, however, rather than the other way around. Hopefully, that meant that he had a plan – and a good one. For now, she couldn't help him. She had to deal with the Dead.

-- -- -- -- --

The Seventh Precinct was darker than any of the previous Precincts, and Naruto didn't like that. There was less light, and it was a darker gray than before. The river had returned, the current stronger than ever, and seemed to suck up what little light existed. Cold ate at his bones, making him think that it would be easier not to fight the river… let it carry him away… it would be so much simpler than fighting Itachi…

No! That would be doing Itachi's job for him, with the added bonus of being able to call him a coward. That was intolerable.

But the Kyuubi would die with him.

Naruto cursed the river and its tricks. And then he heard it: the slosh of the water falling. Itachi was in the Seventh Precinct.

He froze, hoping that the light was bad enough that he would be invisible.

"I thank you kindly for making my job easier, Naruto," a voice said softly – right in his ear.

He whirled, his fist making contact with Itachi's cheek. Pain flared in his fist; the skin was rotting off his knuckles as he stared, horror-stricken, at them. But that wasn't the worst of it. Itachi had his cruel claws in his stomach, pumping huge amounts of Free Magic into his body.

The pain couldn't be compared to fire; it was too cold for that. It was like ice. It seared – so badly that he threw up. But Itachi didn't loosen his hold. In fact, he tightened it.

"Does that hurt, Naruto?" he whispered.

Gasping, he couldn't answer. He could feel the Free Magic loosing the two seals… and, even more disturbing, he could feel that the Kyuubi was pushing against them from the other side. They were being worn away rapidly under the double pressure.

It wouldn't be long before the Kyuubi was free.

"No," Naruto wheezed. "No!"

"It doesn't hurt?"

But he wasn't listening to Itachi anymore. All of his senses were entirely focused on keeping the Kyuubi from breaking free.

_The massive metal doors that had always kept Kyuubi contained in his prison were bending; the seal locking them was crumbling. One giant paw was forcing the metal outward, claws unsheathed. Occasionally, they would brush against the metal, and then it shrieked in protest, echoing horribly off the still water._

_He ignored this, looking up, up at Kyuubi's red, slitted eye. He could read the laughter there, the glee. Evil._

_He wasn't going to unleash that evil on the world._

"_**Oh, you think so?"**_

"_Yes."_

"_**But I think otherwise."**_

"_I'm not going to let you out of there."_

"_**You don't have to. Someone far more powerful than you is being a great help."**_

"_But you have to get past me to get to him."_

"_**That will be easy."**_

"_No. It won't."_

"_**You cannot stop me."**_

"_Watch me."_

-- -- -- -- --

Sabriel burst into the Seventh Precinct to see a horrible sight. Itachi was supporting a glowing red figure with long ears and three tails, wreathed in steam. She knew without doubt that that was a truer manifestation than the one she had seen at the Chuunin Exams. That had been alarming. This was downright terrifying.

The smell rolling towards her made everything ten times worse. Free Magic smelled like hot, burning metal. That scent underlined the worse one, flavoring it. The overpowering stench was… it smelled like… burning flesh.

As soon as she thought that, she knew it was true. The glowing red figure was burning.

Naruto was burning alive.

He was thrashing in Itachi's arms, obviously in agony. Wherever the tails hit the water, the river burst into steam.

She wanted to retch, but forced the impulse back. She had to get Itachi's claws out of his stomach. Ignoring the river's current, she ran forward, her sword whistling.

She stopped short when she saw Naruto's face clearly. It was totally blank and paper-white.

And then a voice spoke. It made Sabriel's head ring and buzz. It was worse than Mogget's cruel cackle, worse than Itachi's bloodthirsty laugh. She couldn't describe it with words. _**"Oh, you think so?"**_

Kyuubi.

She felt faint, but forced herself to stand firm.

_"Yes."_

Naruto was fighting! The shock nearly made her collapse yet again.

_**"But I think otherwise."**_

"_I'm not going to let you out of there."_

"_**You don't have to. Someone far more powerful than you is being a great help."**_

Itachi wasn't going to live if she had anything to do with him.

"_But you have to get past me to get to him."_

So Naruto was the first line of defense. His stubbornness would serve him well. He would not fail. …And if he did… she was here.

"_**That will be easy."**_

"_No. It won't."_

That's right. Even with her little experience with Naruto, Sabriel knew that he would not give up once he focused on something.

"_**You cannot stop me."**_

"_Watch me."_

With that pronouncement, the red glow flared brighter and brighter, blinding her. She threw up an arm to shield her face.

Suddenly, it was gone. Lowering her arm, she saw that Itachi had vanished, leaving Naruto floating on the river. The current was picking him up, carrying him away.

"No!" Sabriel shrieked. She ran forward, grabbing Naruto's limp body by the ankle. Her eyes wracked over him, and she did not like what she saw.

"No!" she protested. The wounds that Itachi had left in his stomach were deep, bloody, and strangely scorched around the edges. The rest of his skin was bright red; the upper layers were entirely gone.

_"Naruto!"_

His eyes, previously half-closed, opened slightly, and he looked at her with dull eyes. "Sabriel," he whispered, his voice raspy.

"Naruto –"

"Tell – tell Mother –"

"Naruto –"

"There's nothing you can do," he groaned, the agony sharply apparent in his voice. "Tell Mother that I tried my hardest –"

"Yes," she whispered. "She'd be proud of you, Naruto. I know she would be."

"And tell –" He paused to cough up blood. "Tell H-Hinata – to be strong."

"Yes."

"Tell Sasuke that – Itachi's dead –"

"Yes."

"Tell him to –" He coughed again. "get a life."

Sabriel laughed weakly. "I'm sure he's going to appreciate that."

He smiled a little. "Thanks, Sabriel… for everything…"

His eyes closed. With a sigh, he died.

Tears slid down Sabriel's cheeks as she let his body go. The river snatched it up, and it vanished beyond the line of fire that marked the Seventh Gate. "Go swiftly to your final resting place, Naruto," she whispered. "Charter bless you."

She turned away and started slowly slogging her way back to Life.

-- -- -- -- --

Sasuke felt a twinge. It wasn't physical, however… he couldn't quite tell what it was. But it hurt. And then he realized what it was. Sabriel had described it. The Death Sense. Someone close by had died. Slowly, he raised his head to look at the two frosted-over forms in front of him: Itachi's and Sabriel's. They both stood unmoving.

Having destroyed all of the Hands in the clearing, Sabriel had entered Death immediately, without untying him. He still stood suspended by his wrists. It was rather irritating, but he was in no condition to break himself free, and he wasn't being tortured anymore, which was a plus. So he ignored his plight.

He glanced to his right, where Naruto's body stood. And knew who had died. Though his body still stood, frosted over, the indefinable feeling that he was still alive was gone. He had passed through the Final Gate.

Suddenly, Mogget stood at the Naruto-statue's feet. His little face was grave. He murmured something softly, and then came over to sit at Sasuke's feet. "He has died the final death."

"…Yeah."

"Hopefully, Sabriel will be back soon."

"Yeah."

"She can tend to Hyuuga and then we must return to Belisaere."

"Just like that?"

"Yes."

"What about Naruto?" Sasuke demanded.

"What about him?"

"We're just going to –"

"Uchiha, there is nothing that can be done for him," Mogget said harshly.

"…I never thought he could die," Sasuke admitted. "He went through a hell of a lot of near-death experiences and always came out."

Mogget didn't respond.

At that moment, iced cracked, announcing Sabriel's return. She looked weary. Mogget bounded over to her, and placed his paws on her knee. She rubbed his head dully, and then looked up to meet Sasuke's eyes.

She stepped up to him, taking a belt knife out of her little traveling pouch, and cut through his bonds. "Thanks," he mumbled, rubbing at his wrists.

"I don't have enough strength to cast a healing spell. I'm sorry." Her voice cracked.

He couldn't meet her eyes. "Mogget says that Hyuuga's in bad shape."

"Yes."

"You're all in bad shape," Mogget growled.

"Yes," Sabriel said faintly. "We won't be able to fly tonight."

"It's getting dark anyway," Mogget said. "I'll find us somewhere to stay." He vanished into the forest shadows.

"I'll see what I can do for Neji…" she murmured, and limped away.

Sasuke was left with his thoughts. He couldn't believe that Naruto was dead.

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_A/N: --cringes and waits for the storm… __especially since Itachi's not actually dead__…--_

_A few notes of interest:_

_--If you're wondering where Neji was in this chapter, he was enjoying the effects of Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan. Mogget was with him._

_--I made up the description of the Seventh Precinct, as _Abhorsen_ doesn't describe it._

_--I also made up what happens to someone's body in Life when they die in Death._

_--At a little over twice the length of Chapter 8, this is the longest chapter in this fic. Whoo!_


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